Removable Connector Electrical Cord Reel Spooling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Electrical cord reels often experience discontinuities due to direct connections between the wound cord and the reel's drum, leading to unsmooth operation and suboptimal spool capacity.
Innovation Solution
An electrical cord reel design featuring a spool member with a recess and trench, along with electrically conductive reel contacts and a connector that securely attaches to the spool member, allowing for selective attachment and removal, ensuring smooth winding and minimizing kinks by conveying electrical power through a series of contacts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a direct electrical connection is made between the wound cord and the reel's drum, then electrical power can be conveyed to the cord, but discontinuities occur in the spool of cord leading to unsmooth operation and suboptimal spool capacity
Solution Approach 1:
The electrical connection is segmented into separate components: a connector with cord contacts and a reel with reel contacts. The connector can be selectively attached to and removed from the reel, allowing the electrical connection to be made without creating discontinuities in the cord spooling path. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by separating the electrical connection function from the mechanical spooling function.
Solution Approach 2:
The connector acts as an intermediary element between the cord and the reel's electrical system. It provides the electrical connection through cord contacts that engage with reel contacts on the reel, while the cord itself maintains continuous contact with the spooling surface. This intermediary approach allows electrical power transmission without disrupting the smooth mechanical operation of the spool.
2Reliability
If a direct electrical connection is made between the wound cord and the reel's drum, then electrical power can be conveyed to the cord, but spool capacity is reduced due to discontinuities
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the electrical connection into a separate connector component, the cord can be spooled continuously around the reel's cylindrical surface without interruptions. The connector attaches to the reel independently, allowing the cord to maintain optimal spool capacity while electrical connectivity is provided through the connector's engagement with the reel's contacts.
Solution Approach 2:
The connector serves as an intermediary that provides electrical connectivity without occupying space on the spooling surface. The cord contacts on the connector engage with reel contacts while the cord itself wraps smoothly around the entire cylindrical surface of the reel, maximizing spool capacity without electrical discontinuities.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the connector is made removable from the spool member, then selective attachment and removal is facilitated, but additional components and assembly steps are required
Solution Approach 1:
The connector is designed to perform multiple functions: it provides electrical connection through cord contacts, maintains mechanical attachment to the reel, and allows selective removal for cord replacement or maintenance. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate components for each function, thereby limiting the increase in device complexity while achieving high adaptability.
Data Source
AI summary
An electrical cord can include a cord segment with an electrical connector. The connector can connect to a spool member of an electrical cord reel to form an electrical connection between the electrical cord and the electrical cord reel. The spool can have a recess that engages and/or mates with the connector. When the connector is in the recess, at least a portion of the connector can be flush with a cylinder surface of the spool. The connector can be secured in the recess with one or more fasteners (e.g., screws). The connector and recess can have members that act as the primary load bearing members when spooling and unspooling the electrical cord to inhibit the application of loads on the electrical connection during rotation of the spool member.